


But a Lonely Moment

by OverMyFreckledBody



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: (hes alright but things arent happy), Caretaking, Drabble, Hurt No Comfort, Protective Derek, all the sad is p lowkey tho, he is a mother basically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-06-01 21:58:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6537778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OverMyFreckledBody/pseuds/OverMyFreckledBody
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek doesn't have a reason for it, but Stiles is the last person he visits to check up on and make sure he's alright. He cares about him - he cares about all of them, and they all care about each other - but he's still late enough that he only catches Stiles when he's asleep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	But a Lonely Moment

**Author's Note:**

> I... probably need to watch more of this show. I mean, I have watched some, but I'm definitely not caught up (but from what I hear, it probably won't be the best for me to do that unless something good happens, oh lord). 
> 
> I have been reading a lot of otherfandom fics though, different than what I usually do, and this popped into my head and I just couldn't get it out. 
> 
> I mostly wanted to just do a little talking about and romanticizing the way that different lighting makes a person look, but then Derek ran off with what I was saying. Oops.

                It’s not even really that late. It’s not.

 

                Still, no matter how often Derek tells himself this, it does nothing for the guilt that’s settled at the bottom of his stomach, pooled and hardened like some kind of metal. Stiles is still going to be awake when he gets there, and he’ll be fine, just like everyone else, and everything will be fine.

 

                He still can’t come up with a reason for taking so long just to check on the boy. Sure, he had his reason of checking on the others, making sure everything was still in place as it needed to be, and just everything else – something that could only be truly summed up as the _aftermath_ of the battle. Even still, with those things, and the lingering fact that yeah, of course, he would have already been checked up on by Scott (and if _he_ found anything wrong, Derek knows he would come rushing in to tell him, that’s just how it is), he still feels and _knows_ that Stiles is absolutely his responsibility as well.

 

                That doesn’t stop him from not being able to handle said responsibly well, however.

 

                It shouldn’t be hard just because Stiles is human and it’s not even really that, it’s just _something_ else, something he can’t quite pinpoint, but it leaves him somehow messing up everything that comes to taking care of Stiles the way he should be doing. He’s just… not able to do it yet. He’s still struggling.

 

                He’s going to work on that, though. He will get everything that needs to be done, done, and everyone who needs to be cared after, cared after in the right way.  Everything will be fine, because after all, they trust him to do his very best and of course he will, because he is-

 

                The second he’s pulling himself through Stiles’ window – something he’s long since learned to keep at least unlocked, especially after something supernatural has happened and Derek might want to talk to him about – his mind just… blanks for a moment.

 

                Stiles is there, of course, but he’s not really… awake. He’s seemed to already have taken a shower, from what Derek can smell – no hints of blood or monster mucus, even if his hair. He’s not in bed, but fallen forward against the desk, his cheek pressed into his little, wireless mouse, and his laptop pushed up far enough that he isn’t drooling on it. The glow from the laptop sends a distorted white shimmer of the back of his head, where his hair is starting to grow out again. It’s… unsettling.

 

                The shine, however, drips down the back of his shirt as well, brighter than the moonlight that streams over his back, creating some uneven mix where the lights touch, each just a little different than the other, enough to be noticeable and off-putting.

 

                Before he really thinks about it, Derek is moving, lifting Stiles up and into his arms, watching as his head rolls back onto his arm, mouth still agape. He reminds him of an infant and he attempts to settle the teenager against his chest, as tilting his head back that far didn’t really look that comfortable. He starts to move them to Stiles’ bed, motions gentle, as to make sure he doesn’t wake, though Derek assumes that even if he jerked him around, Stiles probably wouldn’t wake that quickly.

 

                He rolls his eyes when Stiles sleepily mumbles something about a “giant, furry baby” and lays him against the comforter, doing his best not to jostle the sleeping boy too much as he slips it out from under him and then atop of him. As he does so, ignores the teasing, urging voice he can imagine suggesting that he tuck him in, something that would likely be real if he was still awake.

 

                If Stiles was awake, Derek sure as hell wouldn’t even be putting him into bed – he can do that himself. And if Stiles finds out that he had a moment like this one, he knows the boy would make sure to prod at him about it later, with too many comments that are probably supposed to be jokes, but seem to hold a certain self-depreciative feeling to them. Stiles seems to act like it’s a surprise when some people actually care about and enjoy being around him.

 

                But Derek doesn’t dwell on that. Not when he realizes that Stiles must have been exhausted if he couldn’t even make it to his bed, which is just feet away.

 

                A fresh wave of guilt pours itself down his spine, its touch cold and sickening.

 

                He glances at the tabs open on Stiles laptop, but there are only two: his e-mail, which is all read, but he didn’t look at any of it, and a soundless tab open to YouTube for some music video. The thought runs through his head that Stiles might have been doing more research and then just closed the tab, but he pushes it aside. He doesn’t want to poke around something that isn’t his. It may be his business to keep Stiles save and healthy, but for now, he seems to be alright.

 

                Though Derek can’t really get a good read on his mental health when he’s asleep with his easy heartbeat. He’ll come back tomorrow, maybe call Scott as well.

 

                Seeing as how he had nothing important and hard to get to open, Derek shuts his laptop and glances around for the cord to plug it in so it will be charged when he wakes up. After getting that done, he sends one more look at Stiles, who still hasn’t moved much, and climbs back out the window, tugging it down so its shut all the way as he goes.

 

                Tomorrow, he’d check on him tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! And since you made it this far, it would be great if you gave a comment or a kudos - I'd really appreciate it.
> 
> This is [my writing tumblr](overmyfreckledbody.tumblr.com), but it of course has a lot of attack on titan (no Teen Wolf, sorry), so if that isn't your cup of tea, I wouldn't recommend following just for the writing.


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